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Segoc — Simultaneous Effects Go On A Chain

08_segoc_simultaneous_triggers_chain_order.md

SEGOC — Simultaneous Effects Go On a Chain

When multiple Trigger Effects meet their activation condition at the same time, they are stacked onto one chain in a fixed order. The turn player never yields priority to the non-turn player for this stacking.

The SEGOC order

Within a single "same timing" trigger window, chain links are assigned in this order:

  1. Turn player's mandatory Trigger Effects (all of them first — the turn player chooses internal order if multiple).
  2. Non-turn player's mandatory Trigger Effects (all next).
  3. Turn player's optional Trigger Effects (those using "You can…" text).
  4. Non-turn player's optional Trigger Effects.

The last effect stacked becomes Chain Link N at the top; the chain then resolves backward (LIFO) — so turn player's Chain Link 1 resolves last when only mandatory triggers are in play.

One effect that makes both players act: physical turn-player-first, resolved step by step (NOT SEGOC)

General rule: for any single effect that makes both players act ("Each player…"), the turn player always goes first. The turn player performs each step before the non-turn player does. This is the headline takeaway — but read the two qualifiers below before answering, because "turn player goes first" applies within a step, not across the whole effect.

This is a different mechanic from the SEGOC chain ordering above. SEGOC orders separate Trigger Effects onto a chain. What follows is the internal resolution of one effect that instructs both players to do the same thing — no chain is built and no one may respond mid-resolution.

Hand Destruction — "Each player sends 2 cards from their hand to the GY, then draws 2 cards." (Quick-Play Spell)

Two rules govern it:

  1. Physical order is turn-player-first, but the game treats it as simultaneous. When a single effect makes both players perform the same action "at the same time," the turn player physically performs it first, then the opponent — but both are considered to have happened simultaneously. This is a procedure convention, not a priority pass and not a chain.
  2. Resolve the effect step by step for the whole table, not player by player. A "do A, then B" effect is not "turn player does A+B, then opponent does A+B." Every player completes step A before anyone moves to step B. The send-to-GY step and the draw step are explicitly not treated as occurring at the same time, but the two draws are treated as occurring at the same time.

So for Hand Destruction: both players send 2 to the GY first (turn player physically first), and only after every player has discarded do both players draw 2 — those draws being simultaneous. The turn player does not draw before the opponent has discarded.

The same shape applies to Card Destruction ("Each player discards their entire hand, then draws…") and Dark World Dealings (each player draws then discards): discard step and draw step are sequential for the whole table; same-step actions by both players count as simultaneous; turn player is merely physically first within a step.

Worked examples

"David activates Hand Destruction. Who sends two (2) cards from their hand to the GY first?"
— Answer: David, the turn player — he physically sends his 2 to the GY before his opponent does. But note the full sequence: both players send 2 to the GY before anyone draws, and only once both have discarded do both players draw 2 (simultaneously). David does not finish his own discard-and-draw before his opponent discards.
"Yugi and Joey each control Sangan. Yugi activates Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field. Both players must activate the effect of their Sangan. Which player's monster effect will activate first as Chain Link 1?"
— Answer: Yugi's Sangan. Yugi is the turn player, so his mandatory Trigger Effect is placed onto the chain as Chain Link 1; Joey's Sangan is Chain Link 2. Resolution still walks backward — Joey's resolves first — but the Chain Link 1 designation belongs to the turn player's trigger.

Judge calls to watch for

  • Do not ask the non-turn player to choose effect order until the turn player has placed all of their mandatory triggers.
  • SEGOC only ordering Trigger-style effects that share a single activation window. Effects with different trigger conditions (e.g., "when destroyed" vs. "when sent to GY") that activate from the same event are still batched under SEGOC if their triggers fired simultaneously.
  • If the turn player has zero triggers from the event, SEGOC jumps straight to step 2 (non-turn player mandatory) — no pass of priority to "skip" them.
  • For a single "each player… , then…" effect (Hand Destruction, Card Destruction): do not answer "turn player finishes their whole discard-and-draw, then the opponent does theirs." All players complete the first step (the send/discard) before anyone does the next step (the draw). The turn player is only physically first within a step; same-step actions by both players are treated as simultaneous. Do not confuse this in-resolution sequencing with SEGOC chain-link ordering.

Sources

What's new

  • Added to corpus.